1. Field of the invention
This invention relates, generally, to machines and methods for applying the type of insulation that is blown into its operative position, and more specifically relates to a method and apparatus for wetting an adhesive-treated insulation moments before it is applied.
2. Description of the prior art.
There are two common methods of installing insulation.
The first method involves the unrolling of a roll of insulation material so that it overlies the area to be insulated. This type of insulation is known as batt insulation; one of its shortcomings is that it leaves voids between contiguous rolls. Air infiltrates the voids and reduces the "R" value of the insulation.
The second method involves blowing insulation into place; insulation blown into place is referred to in the trade as loose fill insulation. Where a loose fill insulation is applied, the insulation is stored in a storage tank and blown from the storage tank through an elongate hose member to the application area.
Loose fill insulation effectively eliminates the voids associated with batt insulation.
However, it also has limitations. For example, it can be applied only to level surfaces; rooms with cathedral ceilings or other sloped ceilings cannot be effectively insulated with loose fill insulation because it simply collects itself, under the influence of gravity, into a stack at the lowest spot of the sloped area, thereby exposing all the other areas to air infiltration.
Despite its better insulation properties, some contractors are reluctant to use loose fill insulation even in flat areas because its installation is accompanied by the generation of unhealthy, slow-settling dust.
Moreover, loose fill tends to "fluff," i.e., it will collect in some localized areas in thicker piles than it should, thereby wasting insulation.
Many of the problems associated with loose fill have been addressed by inventors. For example, it is known that spray on loose fill insulation which has been moistened will set quickly and in the substantial absence of dust.
It has also been determined that insulation of the cellulose fiber type can be pre-treated with an adhesive which, when moistened, becomes activated and improves the setting properties of the insulation.
More specifically, once the adhesive has been activated, the fibers that collectively form the barrier to heat transfer adhere to one another, thereby reducing setting time and enabling the insulation to be used on sloped surfaces such as the areas over cathedral ceilings and the like.
Accordingly, inventors have devised devices that moisten adhesive-treated spray on loose fill insulation just prior to its application.
The apparatus which represents the state of the art includes a water-spraying nozzle member which is positioned at the discharge end of an elongate blow hose. A garden hose is extended from a municipal water supply and attached to the nozzle member to provide the water to be sprayed by the nozzle.
This apparatus, although in widespread use, has a number of drawbacks. Perhaps the most serious shortcoming is the positioning of the nozzle member; since the nozzle member is positioned at the discharge end of the blow hose, the adhesive carried by the fibers is moistened just a split second before it exits the hose and settles on the area to be insulated.
Thus, loose fill insulation cannot be used on steeply sloped areas because the insulation tends to slide almost as bad as un-treated insulation on such steep slopes. Accordingly, contractors are reluctant to try to cover with insulation surfaces that are sloped as much as forty five degrees, and even lesser angles.
Moreover, a significant amount of insulation simply blows past the nozzle member and escapes the blow hose entirely unmoistened; this insulation raises dust and of course its adhesives are never activated.
Even the fibers that are moistened by the water sprayed by the nozzle are not thoroughly moistened because no means are provided to amply moisten said fibers.
Still another problem arises from the use of a water supply that operates entirely independent of the means that propels the insulation through the blow hose. If the operator forgets to turn the water on, insulation is applied completely dry; the flip side of that situation occurs when the water supplying the nozzle is turned on, but the insulation stops flowing from its storage tank for any number of reasons relating to mechanical failure of the means that draws the insulation out of the tank and propels it through the blow hose and even including the simple emptying of the storage tank.
When the insulation stops flowing but the water remains turned on, the attic of the contractor's customer can be flooded or otherwise subjected to water damage.
Clearly, the art is not fully developed.
If the ideal device were known, insulation with fast hardening adhesives would be applied onto the surface to be covered at virtually the same moment the adhesive begins to set. Thus, the application would take place in the substantial absence of dust and there would be virtually no setting time whatsoever. Nor would unwanted sliding occur where the insulation was being applied to a steeply inclined surface.
Just as importantly, an improved device would include means ensuring that every fiber exiting the blow hose would be thoroughly moistened so that no dry insulation could reach the application area.
The improved device would also include means that would couple together the flow of insulation from the storage tank and the flow of water to the nozzle. This would ensure that no dry insulation would ever be applied, and that the water flow would stop if the insulation flow stopped.
Such a perfected apparatus does not appear in the prior art.